Questions and Answers from Death Row
Melvin Troy

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Webmaster - Dark Sorrow

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Dark Sorrow
1316 West Chester Pike #155
West Chester, Pa. 19382

Melvin Troy

In October of 1990, Melvin Troy was sentenced to death by a jury for the 1989 robbery and killing of James McKnight a 19 year old marine who was home on leave for his birthday. In November of 1994, Melvin Troy was issued a new death penalty hearing by the judge who presided over his trial. In March of 1995 a very highly publicized police scandal broke loose in Philadelphia's 39th police district which resulted in 6 police officers pleading guilty to police corruption namely, robbery, extortion, planting evidence, lying under oath, and framing people simply to get overtime for going to court. One of the former police officers, John Baird, who is now serving thirteen years for his role admitted to prosecutors in front of a grand jury that he along with four other officers planted evidence at the home of Melvin Troy's mother in order to frame her and gather falsified evidence against her son Melvin Troy. This is public knowledge which has resulted in 11 police officers thus far being sentenced to anywhere from 18 months to 13 years. Despite the district attorney of Philadelphia having this knowledge, Melvin Troy continues to sit on Death Row although he has had his death sentence overturned in November of 1994. Due to the lack of experience that his trial attorney had, Melvin Troy has petitioned the courts on more than one occasion to provide him with a more adequate experienced attorney. The court has not complied in this regard therefore Melvin Troy has been "prose" on his criminal case as well as his civil case that he has brought against the city of Philadelphia as well as the Philadelphia Police Department. Melvin Troy has professes his innocence in this case or any knowledge of it in the beginning and continues to do so.

Melvin Troy has been convicted of other crimes in the past which he has taken full responsibility for. The only case he is disputing is the above case. Please read through all the questions first to see if your question was already answered.

Melvin Troy is on Death Row in Graterford Prison, Graterford PA. He will answer any questions you may have also. 4/29/00 - Mr. Troy had his death sentence reduced to serving life with 15-30 years, however he is still on death row. Melvin Troy #AY-2874 Box 244 Graterford, Pa. 19426

August 2000 Update

As of May19, 2000 I have been removed from Death Row and placed in the general population. This is due to the fact that on April 5, 2000 I was resentenced to life. I am now in the process of preparing my appeal on this sentence. Though this victory is just one step in the staircase, I want to take a moment to thank all the people, family and friends who have supported me throughout the years (9) that I spent on Death Row.

Thank you all very much for the love, support and concern that you have shown me over the years. There are some people that I want to thank especially for their support.

First of all I want to thank LIZ. Through this website I had the opportunity to communicate with, and meet some extremely sincere, wonderful and supportive people from all over the world. It also gave me the opportunity to help inform people about what life is really like behind these walls. It's obvious that many people missed the point of this web site due to their ignorance, bias, or lack of understanding. Nevertheless, we know better than to allow the prick of a thorn, to keep us from the smell of the rose. You have always managed to keep it together, and to keep it real. Your a trooper Baby girl, and 
I've got much love and respect for you. I look forward to continuing with this section of the web site. I also look forward to our getting that video project for the youth underway. A special thanks to Liz the web master.

I also want to thank my dearest little sister Arianna in Italy. Ary, mia carissima sorellina, mio cuore. Ti voglio molto bene. You have always been there for me with your love, your concern, and your support. Thank you for being such a wonderful little sister, and so supportive regardless of the thousands of miles that are between us. I love you and miss you very much and I hope to see you and Biagio in the near future.

A special thanks to you Michelle for the industriousness that you've always shown in not just helping me, but in helping me in my efforts to help others. Much love, respect and thanks to you.

Much love and thanks to my little brother Kev. Nobody does it like you baby boy, NOBODY.

Thanks with much love to Janet and Roland who always shared their vacations with me.

Special love and thanks to my little Angel face.

A very special thank you to my little buddies Helena & Janice up at Bruderhof who always send me such wonderful colorful drawings. Thanks also to my buddy Chris at the Bruderhof.

Special thanks to my buddy Allen up at Conwell-Egan.

A special thanks to Donna ands also to Glen.

And to all the rest of my friends and family who I haven't  mentioned by name that have given their love and support, I want to thank you very much . And I love you all very much. Yes, being no longer under a death sentence in a big step. But it's also only one step in a entire staircase.

Mr. Troy,
Your case sounds like a major motion picture. It seems like you are the victim here. I hope you get off if you are innocent. Keep your faith in God and love in your heart. You will be rewarded in heaven. I would like to hear from you. What is life in prison like? I hope you can be reunited with your family soon. As I mentioned earlier, "You may not trust mankind but trust in the lord. He loves you. God bless
Prison is no place for somebody to be who cannot handle pressure. It is a very tense atmosphere and very unpredictable. Cases such as mine are happening all over the country. While the politicians convince society that there is a need for the death penalty by flaunting the Jeffrey Dahmer's and the Ted Bundy's. What they don't tell society about is the 67 people who were released from death row after doing years for crimes they did not commit. Most of them were proven innocent by D.N.A. testing. The justice system is saturated with gun ho district attorneys who are eagerly looking to seek the death penalty at every chance they can to boost their career. The death penalty is a stepping stone for those who run the justice system that want to eagerly move up the political ladder and for such people it is not about weighing whether a case calls for the death penalty, nor is it about weighing whether the actual person is perhaps innocent or not. What it is about is getting that notch under their belt of a death penalty conviction. The sad fact is that when the evidence comes out years later that these very same zealous D.A.'s withheld evidence that could have proven the person's innocence, they continue on this selfish course of "proven guilty by any means, means that they are guilty." I am innocent of this crime and I don't trust in the system or man to vindicate me. It is my faith in God that keeps me strong and positive. I really appreciate your kind words and faith in God. That is truly the most important factor in surviving the hardships that we face in today's world. God bless.

Dear Troy,
I was moved to read your story while using the internet for study purposes here at University in Oxford, England. Whilst you are obviously well connected to many around the world, I have become interested in writing to Death Row inmates who may not have much contact with those on the outside world. I would greatly appreciate it if you could supply me with the postal address of anyone you know that would like to correspond. With every best wish, Charles
Thank you for your interest in the death penalty. I do alot of research on the death penalty being I am an innocent victim myself and I tell you Charles...the death penalty is not the way to go. Here in the states it is more a political agenda then anything else. Over zealous prosecutors are not concerned with justice but with political gain and making a name for themselves as "hard on crime" via sentencing people to death. It is no longer "your innocent until proven guilty". The prosecutors have done a very good job of convincing the public of this. There is a very unique niaveness going around about the death penalty and that is that if you are sentenced to death then you are without a doubt guilty and that everybody that is sentenced to death is a serial killer or psychopath. This false idea is created by those who run the justice system. I tell you from experience that some of these guys are innocent just as I am and that some of these guys although guilty, should not have been given the death penalty. There are certain criteria that have to be met in order for a person to receive the death penalty and alot of these guys do not meet the criteria. Here are some names and numbers of people that you can write to...they all have the death penalty and they will help you in your quest to know as much as you can about the death penalty.

I am a Belgian journalist, and I'd like to make an article on women who fall in love with inmates that have been convicted for a long term. In Belgium the death penalty does not exist, so we don't have death row here, but I'm looking for women who have fallen in love with people on death row (after they had been imprisoned!), because their story must be similar to the ones I'm looking for. This question is addressed to all inmates on death row, and especially to the women they might have a relationship with. I am also interested in women who write to people on death row (strangers to them), for whatever reasons. I hope you will be able to help me. Thank you.
Mieke Strynckx
Dear Mieke,
Thank you for the inquiry. I do know quite a few guys who are writing to women that they met since they have been on Death Row. The problem is that I would have to talk to these guys and see if they are willing to give you their female correspondences addresses. I know certain organizations such as LIFE LINES which is based in England that write to inmates on Death Row here in the states that I can get their information and send to you. So I would suggest to you that you buzz me back in about 7 to 10 days and I will have a list of organizations that you can contact that provide correspondence to inmates who are on Death Row (most of whom are female) as well as individual females that write to inmates on Death Row. I just need a little time to get permission from the females to give you their addresses. Peace Mel

IF YOU WERE SO WRONGLY SENT TO THE DEATH PENALTY. DO YOU THINK YOU CAN PLEASE TELL US WHY?
That is a very interesting question. It is also a question that I can only answer according to what has been made public by the corrupt police that were involved in my case, and that answer is police are under a lot of pressure to solve cases especially murders. With that pressure "sometimes" certain police become more concerned with finding someone to give the case to, then actually finding the true killer. The term "solving the case" these days doesn't always mean finding the real guilty parties. Alot of times it turns out to simply mean, "arrest and convict someone". There are good police and bad police. Good judges and bad judges. Good prosecutors and bad prosecutors. Good lawyers and bad lawyers. Some politicians are bad and some priests are bad, some laws are bad. Evil knows no human boundaries because all humans are imperfect and the justice system is run by humans, therefore injustices will occur. Some intentional and some not. Contrary to what the powers that be in charge of the Justice System would like you to believe about the Justice System in this country, it is saturated with over zealous prosecutors who are interested in prosecuted more than justice. They believe to themselves that Prosecuting is justice. Prosecuting is what gives them a name and gets them ahead in their careers. Since the death penalty has been inacted, 70 people have been proved innocent and released from death row. We are not talking about somebody getting out because of a technicality here. These people were innocently convicted of a crime they did not do, just like me. 38 of these people were proven innocent through DNA testing that the District Attorneys office argued so adamantly against. The District Attorneys job is not to prosecute but to seek justice. So if a person says, "I want to take a DNA test to prove that I am innocent why would the D.A.'s office argue against it? The world is one of competition my friend and the people who are looked at and/or admired revered are the winners. It is no different in the court rooms. The D.A.'s hire prosecutors to prosecute and prosecutors want to win just like the defendants want to win. Sometimes that winning for prosecutors for some prosecutors means at any cost. You are not innocent until proven guilty for the most part in this country. Once you are charged and arrested for murder you are in for the fight of your life if you are innocent or guilty. The deck is already stacked against you because the D.A.'s office has the man power and resources that most people can't even come close to matching. everything that you get by way of discoveries, statements etc comes from the same people that are prosecuting you, the District Attorney's office. That's what the newly discovered evidence that proves people are innocent years later is about. It's evidence that the D.A.'s didn't turn over before, during or after the trial to the defendants that they should have had. It is always evidence that could have proven the person's innocence. I have a question that I would like to ask you (supposing that you are a defender of capital punishment) that interests me. Why is it that Death Penalty Supporters jump up and down about why people should be sentenced to death in this country so much and so adamant, yet when it is proven that some innocent person spent years of their life on Death Row wrongly convicted and finally gets out they act as though nothing really big happened? If the Death Penalty is to protect the innocent in this country, isn't convicting an innocent person to Death defeating the purpose in having a Death Penalty? 70 people have been proven innocent that were sentenced to death. Doesn't that matter to anybody?

Salom-Shaleem, Brother. First of all, why did they take a picture of you while you were taking a shit? Man, that's bullshit! Secondly, who did you kill and why did you kill them, Melvin? Was he white, Melvin? And, thirdly, fuck you, Melvin. I hope they fry your mother fucking ass, you sun of a bitch. I don't give a fuck how bad it is on death row. If your screaming about how bad it is, then I know we must be doing something right. You motherfuckers cut the throats of hard working, god fearing, decent citizens like me and mine, well, I don't give a fuck what they do to you, Melvin. Fuck you and all the hand wringing, coddling do gooders who would have us spend millions more to make prison a country club. I hope they lower the death penalty age to 7 years old. That way, we could execute those two little 'boys' who murdered a little 6 year old girl for her bicycle last week. Yes, Melvin, I would execute those little devils myself, if their guilty, and, I guess they are because they confessed with irrefutable evidence only the murderer's) would know. So, that's it, Mel, if I can call you that, Melvin. Drop me a line. Tell me what's up. Lets talk. I'd really like to know what you think about, you devil, you. I know a little bit about these situations and I might be able to give you some insight into your situation. Take care. Don't work too hard. Relax, and try to make the most of your situation. Think of all the time you have to pursue the important things. Get a library card for the prison library and read everything you can. Man, I have always wished I had the time to just read all day. But, I can't. I don't have the time, but, you, you have the time. You lucky bastard, Melvin! Bye, bye, now.
I know your type. Your so miserable and so full of self hate that you can't see, accept or understand anything that doesn't agree with your mind set. Your a professional coward at heart. Tell me who abused you as a child that would make you hate and want to execute children or do you have children but your ill ways and misery caused them to despise you and disassociate themselves from you? Or perhaps it's just the natural love, joy and innocence that children have that makes you loathe them because you never experienced such a joy? You are a coward and you walk by sight. You want to believe that everything in the world works perfect. You want to believe that everybody who is arrested is guilty already. You want to believe that no cops are crooked. Well I tell you something, it's people like you that are the reason that such corruption continues to flourish. People like you sanction evil and injustice by pretending to be righteous. Yeah I know your kind. Quite a few of your type are here. Before they get all the way in the door, they are pulling down their pants looking for a man.

I got mad respect for and what you are trying to do. I just wish my peers would listen to what people like you have to say, instead of being ignorant about it and saying that will never happen to me or f*** that She*t. I'll let my boys know about this page and let them read themselves most of them don't even want to come close to one. But technology is the future I chose. Live well and healthy my brother.
I thank you for your warm regards and your understanding of my situation. Your right people do find it hard to accept the fact that some police are capable of committing serious crimes such as framing people for murder or even committing murder themselves, but the reality is that it happened and it happens. One of the problems that allow cops and prosecutors to think that they can continue to get away with framing people is the fact that they know that if the facts come out later on that they framed someone they don't have to worry about actually being charged with murder or attempted murder themselves. The state of Nebraska is the only state that I know of that has a law that states in it's explanation of a capitol crime as, "anyone who knowingly testifies falsely against someone as to a murder". If police and prosecutors knew that they could actually receive the death penalty or a life sentence in return for falsely testifying against someone or planting evidence in a murder case they would think twice about it. But the reality is that they know that regardless of what they do, they have the full backing of the Fraternal Order of Police! I appreciate your attention and support in this manner.

I want to tell you I hope that the cops who framed you are the ones to face execution and not you it is not fair the very people paid to protect us do more harm then good. any way I am sending you my fullest support so smile I am on your side.
I greet you in hope that all is well with you and yours. Thanks you for your comments and support. It is hard for people to understand that police officers could be so corrupt and foul. But the truth is when you give the kind of power to the police that they do have and allow it to go unchecked the result can be exactly what happened to me. It is true that all police aren't corrupt but the fact is that just like any other organization or major group that has influence over our daily lives of people, there will be those who aren't playing by the rules. I am prose (representing myself) on my civil case which I have files against the police department as well as the city and the mayor of the city. So I have my hands full legally. I appreciate your concern and support and if you would like to know more about my case and/or what is going on with me legally, I will enclose my address for you. Take care and GOD bless!

This is Scott, I am a 20 year old college student, and we are currently doing research papers on the book Dead Man Walking. As you may well know, this book deals with some of the pain that a Death Row inmate has to deal with. I would like to find out first hand what it is like to anticipate something like your own demise. For me I can, or rather can't, imagine what it must be like. Do you ever wish sometimes that they would just get it over and stop making you wait like this, or do you thank God for every extra day that you have. If either or both of the prisoners could answer this for me I would be extremely grateful.
Thank you for sending in your question. As for my feelings in regards to being a "dead man walking" so to speak, there is no fear. However this is not the normal feelings here. sometimes I wonder if my feelings stem from the fact that I know I didn't do this case that I have been charged and convicted for, and/or is it simply the fact that I have faith in God and that I will be exonerated sooner or later of this case and charges against me. However very few people that I have spoken with here have claimed that they would rather hurry up and get it over with. But some who have been acceptant of their crime and sentence have in fact told me they would rather be put to death, then die of doing life in jail. But this is the view of only a few at the most that I have run into. I personally deal with each day as it comes and I try to make the best of this bad situation. I try to refrain from as much negativity as possible and or people who are such. Thanks again for your question and may peace be with you.

I am looking for information concerning death row prisoners and the legal systems used in their cases for appeal. I am seeking attitudes from some of the ones convicted, but believed innocent by way of mishandles evidence or less zealous counsel. Have the walls of prison defeated hope in these men by way of treatment or abuse of the system?
As far as the walls of the system depleting the hope of the men that are hear unjustly, all I can say is that from my personal experience most of the men who's cases that I have followed where a person was convicted innocently or unjustly due to mishandles evidence etc. are more prone to be stronger mentally because of their determination to prove their innocence and get out of jail. In my personal opinion it is those who suffer from guilt that seem to be more prone to diminish and or break down mentally. What I will do is provide you with a few names and addresses of guys who's cases that I have followed that have corruption in their cases.

I have a few questions for you. For one, are there rapes and assaults on death row like there are in regular prisons, and are vulnerable inmates safer there from other inmates? And also, if your death sentence has been overturned by the courts, WHY are you still being held on death row???
In answer to your first question concerning whether there are rapes and assaults on death row. As far as rapes, no. Because of the extreme control that is placed on the inmates that are on death row it is just about impossible to commit something such as rape or serious assault. For the most part inmates that are on death row are handcuffed going anywhere to and from their cells. On all the death rows that I have heard of in this country there are only allowed two people at a time in the yard or the law library. I have heard and seen some fights or assaults to some degree, but this is very rare. I haven't heard of any accounts of an inmate on death row being raped in this country. As far as why I am still on death row although my death sentence has been over turned? Well the Department of Corrections wrote to me and told me that, "it is the D.O.C.'s procedure to keep an inmate in the R.H.U. when he receives a new penalty because he/she is still a potential capitol case. This is really bull crap. I have been petitioning the courts and the D.O.C. for four years now. Not only am I still in the R.H.U. but I am still on death row. I just attended a Program Review Hearing on 9-16-98 and petitioned the prison to keep the capitol case rules from applying to me since although I am being held on death row I am not a capitol case. The prison major claims that until the courts send some documents that say that I do not have the death penalty that I must remain in R.H.U. A few people who represent the D.O.C. have been trying to get the courts to send the proper documents up to the prison letting them know that I do not have the death penalty. I guess for the most part it is the courts fault that I am still on death row because they refuse to send the proper paper work to the prison. Nevertheless the prison is aware that my death sentence was vacated. It's just that paper work is still needed to make it official with the records office. The thing to understand is that I was granted a new death penalty hearing not a new trial. This means that I am just unsentenced or rather I have no sentence. But I am presently arguing in federal court in my habeas the police's planting of evidence and admitted corruption which proves my innocence in this case. The D.A.'s office is fully aware of this fact and the fact that I have a law suit against the commissioner, police dept., mayor and the City of Philadelphia. This also plays a part in why I haven't been taken back to court yet. The D.A..'s office doesn't want to open up the facts about what happened in this case because then the police would have to come down from Jail and admit what they did to me under oath, which is really what I want. The whole problem is that the courts are so quick to convict, but when it comes out that they convicted the wrong person they are not so willing to admit it. As a matter of fact they are more concerned with their reputation then they are with real justice. And real justice is admitting that a person has been wrongly convicted when proven so and releasing them. But to many D.A.'s around the country this is too high a price to pay because of their wanting to keep a good reputation as a prosecutor. The old mayor of New York admitted on television that he could live with an innocent person being executed every now and then just to keep the death penalty active in this country. Many more politicians feel the exact same way. And that my dear man is where the Justice system really breaks down. And that is also the primary reason why it is so hard for me to get into court and prove my innocence. Peace.

HI MELVIN I WAS ON THE INTERNET AND CAME ACROSS YOUR LETTER OF WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU. I HAVE A BROTHER IN GRATERFORD SERVING A LIFE SENTENCE FOR SOMETHING HE DID NOT DO. THEY LOCKED MY BROTHER UP FOR KILLING A GUY OVER A CHAIN. MY BROTHER DID NOT DO THIS. A GUY WHO LIVES AROUND THE CORNER FROM US GOT LOCKED UP FOR THIS AND TOLD THE POLICE THAT MY BROTHER WAS ONE WHO DID THE KILLING. MY BROTHER HAS BEEN IN THERE FOR 6 1/2 YRS. NOW. I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO DO WHATEVER IT IS TO PROVE MY BROTHERS INNOCENCE. ALSO THE BOY WHO LIED ON MY BROTHER RECENTLY WROTE MY BROTHER AND SAID THAT HE DID NOT MEAN TO LIE. MY BROTHER HAS ALL THE PAPERWORK THAT HE SENT AND HE SHOULD BE GETTING A NEW TRIAL SOON. MELVIN I HEARD ABOUT YOUR STORY ALSO, BECAUSE I'M FROM NORTH PHILLY. I REMEMBER YOUR STORY AS IF IT WAS JUST YESTERDAY. IT'S A SHAME THAT THE JUSTICE SYSTEM IS SO MESSED UP, IF THIS KEEPS HAPPENING WE WILL HAVE ALOT OF PEOPLE IN PRISON FOR SOMETHING THEY DID NOT DO. WRITE BACK
Thank you for your concern and for telling me about your brother. I really hope that your brother is holding up well and continuing to fight his case. One of the big mistakes that so many of these guys make when coming through here is that they don't get involved in their case enough. They tend to leave everything up to their lawyer and most of the time he/she is court appointed and so they will actually do very little. I've learned alot about the system and the law since I have been here and I try to help educate others about the importance of learning the law themselves. I have been representing myself for the past three years in court and I files my own law suit against the city, mayor and the police. The law suit is still pending although the courts are trying desperately to cross me. I managed to get the death sentence up off me four years ago. However I haven't been taken back to court as of yet because the courts know that I am more aware of the law and that I will prove that they have violated me and my rights. I do not know your brother Kesha but if there is anything that I can provide you or him with by way of the law etc. I will. I get alot of law and case material which I would be more than happy to provide you and him with. I hate to see these young guys coming through here with life and outstanding sentences. So if I can help in any way please let me know. Your brother is in population I presume, which is one reason why I wouldn't know him since I am housed in the R.H.U. section of the jail. Those of housed here are considered security risks and cannot be in population unless our sentence is over turned and we are given a new one. Since I haven't received a new sentence or beat the case yet, I have been told that I have to remain here. However I have been fighting this decision and I am hoping at least be put in population within the next few months if things go according to plans. That way I can fight my case better. Please take care Kesha and give my best to your brother. Your doing the right thing by fighting the case along with your brother. Nobody will fight the system like you and your brother will. To the lawyer it is just a job, but to you and him it's personal, it is his life. Thanks again for your concern and attention Kesha. I'd love to hear from you again in the future and to know how your brother is making out. Also as I said before, if there is some type of legal help that you may need that I can provide I will do my best. If you would like to mail me directly you may do so with the address that is next to my picture up top.

I would just like to know what it is you did that was so awful that you are getting the death penalty for it. I'm assuming it was something along the lines of murder. I would like to know why you want people's sympathy if the crime was actually a murder and you think you shouldn't have to pay the price.
I was tried and convicted of murder. A murder that I did no do nor do I know anything about. I don not want people's sympathy Gretchen. What I want is to open up people's minds to the real reality of the justice system here in the United States. There are two side to the law. There's the side that people such as yourself know which comes from reading the newspapers and watching the news and there's the side that people such as myself know who have actually experienced the injustice that the system can offer by convicting me of a murder that I did not commit. I don't know if you are from this country and if so what state you may be from but there was a very public and embarrassing situation that occurred here for the police department in 1995. It started with the admitted police corruption in the 39th police district in North Philly and ending spreading to two other police districts as well as the Highway Patrol. In all, nine police officers ended up pleading guilty to police corruption charges and planting evidence and received sentences ranging from 2 years to 17 years. My case was one of the publicized cases because the 39th district police admitted that they planted evidence in my case, and went as far as to arrest my mother on some trumped up charges in order to try to get me to plead guilty to the charges they gave me. Numerous law suits have been filed in this matter by numerous people who were framed by these police officers. Also over $2,000,000 in damages have been paid out due to these law suits. One guy was released after doing ten years for a murder that he did not know anything about. The same police that are in my case paid a witness in his case to testify that it was the guy who did it. In the same instance an innocent lady was set up and arrested on drug charges that she never did. Once again the reason for this was because the police had arrested her sons on drug charges, which they got acquitted of in court. The police rearrested the sons a year later and this time decided to arrest the mother also so that the sons would plead guilty to the charges in exchange for their mother's freedom. The sons wouldn't plead guilty so the mother was taken to court on false evidence and found guilty as well as the sons. The mother did 3 years in prison before this police corruption scandal broke and she was freed. The courts settled out of court, $9,000,000 for the mother and agreed to some sort of settlement for the sons. Fortunate for my mother the judge noticed that the police that were involved in the case were actually on suspension and therefore had no business even working at the time so he threw the case out of court. Of course the police rearrested her again about a year later but the judge threw the case out of court again. My mother being devotedly religious (Jehovah Witness) didn't want to file a law suit, BUT I DID. The law suit is still pending as well as the review of my case. The courts hate to admit that they wrongfully arrested somebody because they hate to pay money out and they want people such as yourself to believe that they are above reproach. Did you know that since the death penalty was reenacted that over 70 people have been proven innocent and released from death row??? Proven innocent Gretchen. Thirty five of them through DNA testing, which did not exist 15 years ago. You haven't heard about the situation in Chicago where Santiago Cruz spent 7 years on death row before they found out that the police and the District Attorney planted and fabricated evidence to convict him? Santiago is now a free man, and the police that were involved as wee as the D.A. have been arrested for what they did. Don't ever assume that just because a person is convicted that they are really guilty Gretchen. The District Attorney's and the police as well as the politicians will paint one picture for you to see. But believe me there is another side to that picture and it is not what the courts and those in authority want you to see. That's why the courts settle quickly in these instances. They don't want the entire facts to be revealed in court. So you see as I said earlier Gretchen, what I look for is far from sympathy from people. What I seek is to impart real understanding as to the reality of what has happened to me, has happened to others and can happen to you. If you would like to see for yourself some of this information you can write to me and I can send it to you.

Is it true that sex offenders, especially child molesters, have a tough time in prison? Is it true that armed robbers and other inmates look down on them?
In answer to your question I would have to say not as much as they used to. The climate of jail has changed some what in that regard. Once upon a time it would be just about impossible for a rapist, child molester or sex offender to make it into general population, but now it doesn't seem to effect alot of guys the way it used to. Perhaps because it's so prevalent now or perhaps because the average guy that comes to jail is between the ages of 18 and 22. However these types of individuals are not respected and/or dealt with like some one would deal with the average criminal in here. They may not get jumped on or beat down like they would some time ago but they are not respected or generally associated with. Alot of times there cells are robbed and they are not treated in an O.K. manner so to speak. So all in all I guess the answer is yes they are treated rougher and do have a tougher time in prison but the danger of them getting hurt really bad is not like it used to be, all the time.

I am interested in knowing more about you and your upbringing. Was this robbery/murder incident your first run in with the law, or did you have prior arrests and convictions? Were you involved with drugs or gang activity at the time when you were accused of this murder? And most of all, if you can legally discuss it, what exactly happened that day??? If you didn't rob and kill that person, do you think you know who did? Was it someone in your gang or a friend who actually did it and you got blamed? Were you in the area where the killing took place that day? And if you really are INNOCENT, then tell me how did you get involved in this awful mess in the first place?
In response to your question about whether I was arrested and/or in trouble with the law before, the answer is yes. I was not an angel on the street nor am I trying to sell that to anybody. But the truth of the matter is that I am completely innocent of this crime that I have been charged with. It is not a matter of me being present at the time of the murder or being involved in this murder in anyway. I do not know where this area is at that this murdered occurred nor do I have any idea who did this murder. But I do know that it was not me. the thing that is so amazing about this case is that the witnesses testified that there were two people who got out of a car and approached the young man while two others waited in the car. Yet nobody else was arrested for this case. Also the deceased died 10 weeks later in the hospital, after doing well and making outstanding progress for the 10 weeks that he was recuperating. According to the medical report the doctors were making a routine physical on the guy and found that he may have had a possible strangled urinary tract. So they decided to do exploratory surgery to see if it was a fact. From there it says that the anesthesiologist gave him anesthesia and in 2 to 4 minutes the guy had a heart attack and died. Personally I believe that the anesthesiologist did something wrong that caused the death of this young man. The real kicker is that I have finally received a copy of the deceased statement that he gave as to the account of what happened that night. His description of the assailant that shot him was 5'6 or 5'7 and about 150 or 160lbs which is just about the same size as himself. The deceased records show him to be 5'9 160lbs. When I was arrested I was 6' tall 190lbs and the records show this. I was the lightest I had been in two years. There is no way this guy would have been staring at me and described me as 5'6 or 5'7, 150 to 160lbs and it doesn't stop there. The police also claimed that whomever killed this guy, also killed a cop's son while robbing him. Yet when the police charged me in this case and then told the witnesses to the cop's son killing that they found the person who killed the cop's son during that robbery, the witnesses said that I wasn't the guy who did it. The very bottom line is that the police are more concerned with closing cases then really actually solving them. I truly believe that certain police officers in this case knew already that I was innocent of this case when they charged me with it. Otherwise why would the police have planted evidence at my mothers house where it just happens that I did not live. But they thought that I did. The police admitted to this. It was all in the papers. Nine police officers are doing time for pleading guilty to police corruption in at least 150 different cases. Over 200 cases have been overturned due to these police officers conduct thus far. People find it hard to believe that things like this can happen and when it does they say exactly what you are saying to me, "How did you get into this mess?" It doesn't matter who you are. The police have that kind of authority over citizens. If the police that are involved are crooked, anything can happen. See the important thing to remember is this...that the police have a whole organization behind them called the F.O.P. (Fraternal Order of Police) which will back them up just because they are police officers. It really doesn't matter whether they are guilty of the charges or not. If you would like to know more information that I just told you in regards to my case, I would be glad to send you the information so that you could see for yourself.

Questions Continued

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